Timeline: 1950-1974

Please note: This timeline is a work in progress and we continue to update as we record more information from published references and our archives. It includes dates of events, activities and operations for the Queen’s Own Rifles.

June 25 – Korean War begins – A good many men left to join the Korean Special Force [2] p284

1951

May 5 – The 27th Canadian Infantry Brigade was formed for service in Europe as Canada’s contribution to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ground forces. The Queen’s Own provided the support Company of the 1st Canadian Rifles and eight officers: Major W. J. Weir, MBE; Captain G. F. Hall; Lieutenants P. B. L. MacKinnon, M. de C. O’Grady, M. B. Symons and A. C. Whealy; Second Lieutenants W. R. Campbell and G. C. Pilcher. Fifty seven others ranks enlisted directly and the remainder including a reinforcement company, were secured by regimental recruiting [2] p285

November – 1st Canadian Rifles left for Germany and was stationed in an old German artillery barracks, renamed Edinburgh Barracks, at Hanover [2] p275

1952

“Upon arrival Hannover ,1CRB and 1CHB were quartered in a former German artillery housing now renamed Edinburgh Barracks. For administrative purposes the 27th Brigade was attached to British 11th Armoured Division. part of the British Army on the Rhine.” Powder Horn: Fall 2012/Winter 2013 IssueVickers Machine Gun position during the 27CIB Live Firing Exercises at Putlos on the Baltic Sea, August 1952. 2nd Lieutenant Ken Ridge, QOR, Support Company on left holding what may be a range finder?, others unknown.

November 22-23 – The Victoria Rifles paid the Queen’s Own a visit in Toronto [2] p285

1953

March 19 – Canadian Rifles Depot organized at the Prince of Wales Armouries in Edmonton [2] p281

March 24 – Her Majesty Queen Mary, died after serving as Colonel in Chief of the Queen’s Own Rifles since 1928 [2] p285

June 2 – Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Each Canadian regiment was allocated one representative to attend and Bugle Major Bob Wilson, MM represented The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada [Robert Wilson]

July 27 – Korean War Armistice signed

October 16 – 1st Canadian Rifles (then in Europe) becomes the 1st Battalion, Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada and the 2nd Canadian Rifles (training in Canada) become the 2nd Battalion, QOR of C in the Canadian Regular Army. The militia battalion would be styled the 3rd Battalion, QOR of C (CAO 76-3, Pt ‘B’, Supp Issue No. 358/53) [2] p286

October 16 – Lieutenant Colonel J. M. Delamere MBE, CD is appointed Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion QOR of C. (Regular Force) (Although nominally in command he was seconded for his full term and the Major C. P McPherson CD acted as temporary Commanding Officer) [2] p344/5

November 16 – 3rd Battalion (Reserves) fired a feu de joie at the Toronto Horse Show [2] p286

Corporal Frank Walsh of the 1st Battalion, Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, preparing for UN peacekeeping duty in the Middle East, November 1956.

November 13 – OPERATION RAPID STEP – 1st Battalion heads to Halifax (via Downsview) as it prepares to move to Suez Canal in a Peacekeeping role. However Egyptians object because their name and uniforms are too similar to British forces to appear neutral and their assignment is eventually cancelled. (See CBC news report video of November 15, 1956) 2nd Battalion also sends a draft of one officer and 242 other ranks to join the 1st Battalion. [2] p280

November 17 – Major General E. C. Plow, CBE, DSO, CD, General Officer Commanding Easter Command inspected the 1st Battalion in Halifax. This was followed by a parade through town [2] p276

December 10 – The order is received that the operation is definitely off [2] p277

February 3 –Deuce Horn, the Great Dane regimental mascot, succumbed to cancer and was buried at with due ceremony [2] p281

February -Ten mortarmen from 1st Battalion went to Glacier, British Columbia at the request of the Canadian Pacific Railroad to experiment with avalanche control [2] p277

February – C Company, 1st Battalion went to Wainwright to act as defensive troops in Exercise Bulldog IV [2] p278

May 24 – Army Day in Calgary – many visitors inspected the displays at Currie Barracks and Major General Vokes too the salute at a march past of 1st Battalion [2] p278

June – 1st Battalion is at Sarcee participating in Exercise Sabre. 100 militiamen also joined the battalion for a week’s intensive training [2] p278

July 31 – HRH Princess Margaret visited Toronto and 3rd Battalion proved a special guard in the foyer of the Royal York Hotel [2] p287

November 9 – Newly carved World War IIBattle Honours on the Cross of Sacrifice were unveiled with the Bishop of Toronto, Honorary Major the Right Reverend F. H. Wilkinson, MM, ED, former chaplain of the regiment officiating assisted by the current chaplain, Captain R. J. Newsham. The unveiling was performed by Major General H. A. Sparling, CBE, DSO, CD, General Officer Commanding Central Command. Present on parade were the 3rd Battalion, The QOR Association, the Upper Canada Collage Cadet Battalion and the QOR Branch – Canadian Legion [2] p287

1959

Jan 15 – Further trials in the mortar shelling of dangerous mountain avalanches on the proposed Trans-Canada Highway will be made next month by the army at Glacier, B.C. Two officers of the 1st Battalion, Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada were in Rogers Pass doing the preliminary planning. [Revelstoke Review]

February – D Company, 1st Battalion was at Sundance Canyon, three miles west of Banff, for winter warfare training [2] p278

March – C Company, 1st Battalion, in individual sections, marched about 54 miles through the rocky Mountains for “initiative training” [2] p278

May 10 – Canadian Army Routine Order 16-1: Issue No. 648 announces the new alliance of the QOR with the 60th, The King’s Royal Rifle Corps effective June 11, 1956 [2] p287

May 24 – 3rd Battalion wins the first “Toronto and District Garrison Sergeants’ Association” trophy and $25 prize for the best marching unit in the Garrison Parade [2] p287

June 29-30 – Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Toronto and the 3rd Battalion assisted by street-lining in High Park, Kew Beach and at the O’Keefe Centre [2] p287

April 30 – For the 100th Anniversary a spectacular dinner in held in Toronto, attended by 1,300 veterans, cadets and riflemen from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions, the Depot, and affiliated cadet corps [PH 1960] p4

May 31 – The Regimental Depot along with other static units stationed at Currie Barracks, were inspected by the Commander, Alberta Area, Brigadier J.S. Ross, DSO, CD [PH 1960] p12

June 11 – City of Calgary grants Freedom of the City to the Regiment [PH 1960] p12

July – The new Colonel-in-Chief H.R.H. Princess Alexandra, paid her first official visit to the Regiment at Fort MacLeod in Germany and played a leading part in the 2nd Battalion’s centennial celebrations [PH 1960] p4

July 26 – The Regimental Depot captures the Softball Trophy on the Garrison Sports Day [PH 1960] p17

August – A company from 2nd Battalion undertook a tour of the European battlefields which included D-Day landing beaches and continued east up the French coast into Belgium and Holland [TPH 1960] p5

September 14 – The 55 year alliance with The Buffs was commemorated by the Regiment with the presentation of a time honoured side drum emblazoned with the Battle Honours, at a fitting ceremony in the Warriors’ Chapel in Canterbury Cathedral [PH 1960] p4

October 2 – Advance Party of 150 all ranks and families departs from Calgary (to Quebec City) by train and the on the SS Homeric to Fort McLeod, Germany [PH 1960] p53

October 14 – At the age of 19 years, Rifleman Bruno Ernst Werner Eggman of the 1st Battalion died with two other soldiers in an vehicle accident (army trucked rolled over) at Camp Wainright, Alberta where he was attending an NCO course. Rifleman Eggman enlisted in Toronto in August 25th, 1960, joining the First Battalion of The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada shortly afterwards. Riflemen H. Henning and W. Gruber were also injured in this accident.

1962

August 30 – Major J. L. McCulloch CD replaces Major D. M. Creighton CD as Commanding Officer of the Regimental Depot and continues until the depot is stood down as of December 2, 1968 [PH 1962] p9

December 10 – 50 man guard of the 1st Battalion commanded by Captain Thomas Stout, greeted the Honorable John K. Starnes, Canadian Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany when he visited Fort McLeod, Germany. He later lunched in the officers’ mess [PH 1963] p16

1963

January 16 – Colonel J.G.K. Strathy, OBD, CD, Colonel of the Regiment, visited the Home Station and participated in a meeting of the Regimental Central Fund Committee [PH 1963] p8

January 19 – 16 man guard of honour from the 1st Battalion, commanded by Captain Phil Roy, was inspected by the new Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General Lyman D. Lemnitzer during his first visit to the Joint Headquarters of the Norther Army Group [PH 1963] pp16-17

June 1 – Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion Lieutenant Colonel E.D. Price, CD, and Major McCulloch and Captain Schmitz of the Regimental Depot departed Calgary to join other members of the regiment at Bernieres-Sur-Mer [PH 1963] p9

July 12 – Lieutenant Colonel T. Firth of the British Defence Liaison Staff at Army Headquarters in Ottawa, visited the Depot [PH 1963] p9

1964

March 20 – Lance Corporal Organ was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct by the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General G. Walsh, CBE, DSO, CD at a special ceremony held at Work Point Barracks.

November 3 – Colonel of the Regiment, Colonel J.G.K. Strathy inspected the 3rd Battalion in the old St Lawrence Market [PH 1965 p8] [St Lawrence Market was being used since the University Armouries were demolished in 1963 and the new Moss Park Armoury was not expected to be occupied until mid-1966]

March 16 – 1st Battalion holds service at St Barbara’s Chapel, to re-dedicate Book of Remembrance 1866-1918 and install Regimental and 1st Battalion flags to commemorate the relocation of the Regimental home Station to Work Point Barracks, Victoria [PH 1969-70 p48]

May 20 – 3rd Battalion, veterans, and detachments from Upper Canada College Cadets hold a ceremonial parade to recognize Colonel J.G.K. Strathy’s 10 years as Colonel of the Regiment. [PH 1969-70 p8]

June – Colonel J.G.K. Strathy represented the Regiment at the Royal Green Jackets’ Annual Dinner in London, England and had visits with the Colonel-in-Chief Princess Alexandra and with Lieutenant General Sir Richard Craddock, Colonel of our other allied Regiment, the Queen’s Regiment. [PH 1969-70 p7]

August – Corporals Clark, Currah, Dunk, Gilbert, MacNeil and Szepes and Riflemen Green and Irvine are attached to 2nd Royal Canadian Regiment, Fort York, Soest, Germany to participate in the fall NATO exercises with 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (CMBG).

November – Corporals Clark, Currah, Dunk, Gilbert, MacNeil & Szepes and Riflemen Green and Irvine return from participating in fall NATO exercise with 2RCR which was part of 4 CMBG.

Part of the Upper Canada College Cadet Battalion on Remembrance Day Parade facing St Paul’s Anglican Church on Bloor Street (with a very dirty looking Manufacturers Life Building in the background!) Cadet Officer (with sword) is c/Lieutenant George McNellie (later QOR 74-76.) Photo by W.R. McNellie.

6 thoughts on “Timeline: 1950-1974”

I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHO WAS SENT ON EXERCISE VACUM IN SUFIELS 1968 ANY LIST OF PARTICIPENT WOULD BE APRECIATED MY NAME IS JERRY SCHROLL I WAS ON THAT EXERCISE BUT I CANNOT PROVE IT TO VETERANS AFAIRS THANK U MY E MAIL IS mastertrucker@shaw.ca thank u

I was a 2254 QORofC cadet at Calgary 1967-68, I think the RSM of 2Bn was WO2 Naylor. His son, Brent Naylor, was a school chum from Viscount Bennett High School, served as the RSM of the cadet corps at the same time. Former NHL Linesman Randy Mitton also served as the cadet corps RSM, then as a cadet officer during this time.